Nightmares
by Crystabel.Shalott
Summary: Annie's second night in District 13


**Disclaimer: **I don't own 'The Hunger Games', they belong to Suzanne Collins.

It's late at night. The room is dark and quiet.

It's Annie's second night in District Thirteen and she was allowed to sleep in Finnick's compartment. At first Coin was against it, but Finnick refused to leave her one more time. It was either this, or he sleeping in her hospital bed, so he won the argument. No way he was leaving Annie alone in the hospital again, not after all this months, not after the last time when Annie was just back from her games and the Capitol tried to heal her PTSD. He still didn't know what they did to her - and whatever it was, it didn't help - neither Mags nor Annie ever talked about it. But it was a memory from The Capitol and everything related with the latter isn't good.

Annie tried hard not to fall asleep, afraid of the images that sleep will bring, but in the end without noticing her eyes closed. Finnick is still holding her hands, they sleep lying on their side the united hands in the middle of the bed and they are facing each other, their breaths meeting. It's partly because of Finnick beside her, that she fall asleep. Partly because in the last months she didn't sleep much: the screams, the men, Snow, the torture everyday it was getting more and more unbearable and memories were added to old ones. Her head was so full of terrible images that she felt she was going to explode.

_The door of the prison squeaks as it gets opened. She can smell the blood and the roses before Snow has entered the room completely. As he enters and places himself on a chair in front of the bed, she curls up in the corner of the bed trying to distance herself from him._

_"Miss Cresta, you have really no idea how happy I am to see you, even if it occurs in such dramatic circumstances"_

"No, please don't" she whispers.

_"Mr. Odair should have paid more attention when he decided to defiant me. Or maybe the rebels didn't rescue you on purpose: a way to keep him in the right place. I came to that idea five years ago, why shouldn't they follow the example"_

"Go, please go"

_"Now to business. I won't spend any more time trying to get information out of you, it became irrelevant. there is a far quicker way to destroy both you and Finnick Odair, and let's not forget it will do something for the Capitol's economy. Being at the beginning of a war isn't exactly cheap."_

_She knows what he is talking about: whenever Snow mentions the economy to a victor it's always for one reason. He is going to sell her._

_"Since your games there have been many people who wanted you, this is the occasion.. You'll start this evening"_

"NO!"

Finnick didn't sleep deeply, he wanted to be able to be there for Annie, in case she woke up or had flashbacks. He hears her whisper, at first it is just a murmur but the more the time passes, the more Annie's voice grows louder. He tries to wake her but it doesn't work: Annie is too fast asleep to hear him or to react.

Suddenly her scream cuts the air, she wakes up covered in sweat, her heart racing fast, and tears coming down her eyes. She looks disoriented around the room, trying to figure out where she was. Not in the Capitol that's sure, but why did her dream seem so real? Or maybe this is the dream? One of the times she would create a different reality in her mind, in order to escape the pain.

"Annie, it's me. Your safe, you're not in The Capitol. It's all right"

It's only when Finnick's words finally reach her that she knows she is safe. Safe, away from Snow, away from the men and the screams and the pain.

Finnick pulls her closer, gently, and she leans her head on his chest. They sit there clinging to each other, seeking comfort. He repeats the words 'you're safe' over and over again until Annie calms down a little.

"Annie, you have to talk about it. It'll be better if you do" he says.

He has an idea of what she was forced to do, and the fact that they found her in her cell completely naked only confirmed it, but he wants Annie to talk about it, because talking helps. It will make everything look more real but afterwards one will feel better. He wants Annie to share her pain and not bottle it up.

"I'm not ready"

"But when you are, please tell someone about it"


End file.
